A recent paper in the Journal of Medical Chemistry is attracting national and international media interest. The research by a team from the Centre for Bisodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapuetics, suggests that a molecule derived from the human parasitic liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini may have such powerful wound healing properties, that thousands of amputations could be prevented each year.

There has been considerable interest in a new paper (published in Science Translational Medicine) in which BMDT researchers have identified a protein secreted by hookworms that suppresses asthma in mice.

Researchers from the Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics again figured prominently in this year’s Reperio Innovation Pitching Competition, with Zoltan Sarnyai taking 1st place and Lionel Hebbard 3rd place.

The Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics is pleased to announce that Sandip Kamath and Ann Katrin Kraeuter have both been awarded BMDT Researcher Exchange Grants. Sandip and Ann describe their work below and the impact that these grants will have on their research.

Dr John Croese and Dr Paul Giacomin, researchers working within the Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Theraapeutics, have been awarded more than $860,000 by the National Health and Medical Research Council to study the treatment of coeliac disease using hookworms.

A research project led by Associate Professor Zoltan Sarnyai of the Centre for Bioodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics suggests that the high-fat/low-carb ketogenic diet may be effective in the management of schizophrenia.

Associate Professor Zoltan Sarnyai, of the Centre for Biodiscovery & Molecular Development of Therapeutics, has contributed to an interesting article in the Huffington Post about the realtionship bewteen stress and exercise.

Michael Sheridan, a researcher with the Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics at James Cook University, recently received the Early Career Environmental Health Officer of the Year Award from Vince Stephens, President of Environmental Health Australia QLD, at a formal dinner concluding the 58th bi-annual EHA (Central QLD Conference), held in Yeppoon.

Dr Michael Smout and Associate Professor Jamie Seymour of the Centre for Biodiscovery & Molecular Development of Therapeutics have been awarded a Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation Large Research Grant for their work on jellyfish venom.

A recent essay, "Can hookworms cure coeliac disease?", by Dr Paul Giacomin of the Centre for Biodoscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics has been published in the April 2015 edition of Australian Science Magazine.

Dr Sandip Kamath, of the Centre for Biodiscovery & Molecular Development of Therapeutics, has won a grant from the Allergy and Immunology Foundation of Australasia for his work on shellfish allergy in children.

Emeritus Professor Richard Keene, the Design & Delivery Program Leader in the Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, has recently been awarded a Journals Grant for International Authors by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Dr Jeffrey Warner and Professor Louis Schofield of BMDT are part of a team investigating Drug-Resistant TB in Papua New Guinea. Data from a recent study suggests that drug resistance TB is endemic and is placing a significant health burden on the community.

Centre For Biodiscovery & Molecular Development of Therapeutics Professor Alex Loukas, Dr Severine Navarro and their team are collaborating with Janssen to develop a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease based on proteins secreted by hookworms.

Morgane Moreau, a post-doctoral research fellow within the Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, is one of eight recipients of the 2014 Dean’s Award for Research Higher Degree Excellence at James Cook University.